Looking for some comments of those that have experience of detachable towbars. I have decided that I have had enough of cracking my shin on the tow ball when putting stuf in/out of the boot.
So I need a detachable for a VW Passat est. I have hunted high and low and it seems that the witter is about £250-£300, others Brink I think at about £200 and Towsure in at £165. Now I know tht some have had delivery problems with Towsure, not an issue as I will collect or get them to fit. Has any one fitted or had fitted one of these. Does it go straight in or did you have problems. Based on the money it looks to be a no brainer, I have been quoted £395 to get a witter fitted so sub £200 plus fitting looks attractive.
BTW any one know if the passat (2000) has multiplexed wiring?
Hi Mark, I have the witter detachable fitted on my Meriva, no choice as it is the only bar available due to the low number plate, had a guy fit it at the door all in for £350, having seen what it entailed I certainly would have been able to do the job myself and saved £150, the witter towbar comes complete with a lock and keys, something that is an extra on some of the cheaper versions. When pricing mine I found that some of the ones at around £160 (not fitted) cost an extra £30-40 for the lock, I also worked out that the Vauxhall fit bar was also the Witter one with a different badge, £100 dearer for the privelige of having a different stamp!
Certainly have found that after a years vanning I must admit that the detachable ball certainly has saved on the sore shins, greasy trousers etc.
Couple of other points, neither Witter or Bulldog would advise or recommend on the use of blade type stabilisers, Witter said no but wouldn't say why but pointed out the warranty would be void if I used my bulldog blade stabiliser. Bulldog when pressed said that they could not accept any liability if I used the stabiliser on a removable ball towbar. Suffice to say the first time out with the van I did not fit the stabiliser but took it with me as someone had expressed an interest in it. After a hairy drive in high winds I decided to give it a go, the van was nice and stable on the return journey in similair weather conditions. If you have a newish van then the hitch type stabiliser would be ideal and worth the extra spends, if your van is old like mine then I would think twice about forking out on a stabiliser that is grossly overpriced in my opinion.
I fitted a towbar to my Passat this year, it's on an 02 plate and it's a saloon rather than an estate but I wouldn't have thought that the wiring would be radically different from your own Passat. I was a little apprehensive doing it myself but it turned out to be relatively simple and didn't entail any additional kit above and beyond the basic kit - which is all a rather long winded way of saying that I don't think that the wiring is multiplexed.
BTW I only fitted and wired up the single 12N socket (i.e. indicators, brake light etc).
As has been said modern cars have specific mounting points to which the towbar must be fitted to get type approval
My own towbar is a Brink/Nissan and I came by it as a towbar manufacturer bought it copied it tried out their prototype on my car and then fitted the Nissan bar to my car for £60 !
I think that you will find that the Towsure will be VERY similar to another well known manufacturer
Detachable does not mean invisible as some posters on this site have found out.
Well it has now been fitted and I am £270 lighter. It only took them just over the hour to fit. This is cheaper than any where I found to supply me the bits. If you want a fully concealed to bar then this is not the one for you. This is very much like the Witter Stow bar, you get to see the sockets and the cover where the swan neck clips in. From what I have seen of the vertical Witter this will be much more concealed.
Not the neatest of jobs on the wiring. I needed to get them to give me a few more tie wraps to keep the wiring out of harms way. Here is hoping that these scotch clips do not give me any problems later.
The tow bar is not supplied with a lock to prevent detachment. However, it does need just under a quater turn twist to fit and remove, so I doubt it could be detached when the van is hitched. I will try this later when it is not so flippin cold out and I have the van hitched up.
Al has gone back to the car dealer today as we didn't have an alco tow ball, we have a normal one, hoping to swap it over. We didn't think to mention it to be fair and I didn't know when I went to pick up the car , good job we didn't realise at the point of hitch-up!
Hi. I would like to clarify one thing on this topic. Where posters refer to a similarity with the Witter detachable, this similarity is simply that the square swan-neck housing block together with the socket/s remain visible but tucked neatly under the bumper.
The operation and detachable mechanism is a unique design developed in-house by our design engineer, and is different in both operation and design to any other systems we are aware of, and unlike at least two other systems available which I am aware of which utilise an insertable locating/securing pin (I am not referring to the witter here), the "bayonet"-fitting of our Eclipse detachable gives a unique 3-point securing when the neck is inserted.
I hope this clears up any misconceptions that may be unintentionally given by this thread.
(oops, sorry for the "bump", only just noticed the date of the OP!!)
I've had a few towbars from towsure for different vehicles, although not detachables. Been very happy with them. By far the cheapest. As already stated, delivery can be hit and miss with them. Sometimes it is excellent sometimes it is terrible. I suspect they only send orders out when there are a lot to go, If you order just after a batch have been sent, you may have a long weight, If you order just before a batch is sent, you might get a quick despatch. Don't waste any money on the express delivery, it doesn't happen. I placed an order with them a few years ago and paid extra fro express delivery, my father placed an order the next day, standard delivery. His arrived the next day, mine the day after and we only live 15 miles apart.
i have fitted 2 witter detachable towbars to each of the cars we own (VW passat est and touran) I also us a dedicated wire kit! would not consider any other now as its only a 45 min to each vehicle, the deticated looms are great they have drop and insert plugs and socket , so no cuting or scotch locks ! very neat and tidy .
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Topic: Towsure detachable towbar vs rest
, good job we didn't realise at the point of hitch-up!
